Chapter 35
Together, Dina and Nour drew a circle of salt in Dina’s bedroom, placing a candle in the center. Nour had told Robert not to disturb them, as this was witchy business of the highest order, but he had made sure they’d eaten something before they went about performing magic.
“We need to get to the bottom of this, habiba,” her mother had said. “If we stay up all night, we are going to find out who hexed you, and how to break it.”
For the beginning of the spell, they washed both of their arms up to the elbows in rosewater, scenting the room with its floral aroma. It cleansed the magic, and would keep their working true.
“Sit in the center for me, benti,” Nour bade Dina. She let her mother walk her through this, as her magic was far more of the seer’s kind.
Her mother handed her a lit pillar candle, and then sat down opposite her in the circle.
“How does it work?” Dina asked.
“When we’re ready, we blow out the candle and in the smoke above it we will see the name of the person who cursed you. Now, be quiet and let me do my magic.”
They sat in silence, rain pattering heavily against the darkened windows, the room bathed only in the warm glow of candlelight. Nour frowned, her palms facing upward, as she muttered a spell under her breath, too quiet even for Dina to hear.
Dina watched her mother’s face, a mirror image of what Dina would look like in thirty years. Laugh lines crinkled around her brown eyes, age spots beginning to dot the tops of her cheeks. Nour had the ability to remove these of course, if she wished. But Dina’s mother had always been one to age gracefully. She’d even kept the white hairs that now blossomed at her temples, saying they made her look distinguished and elegant.
Nour opened her eyes, and for a moment they glowed amber.
“Blow out the candle,” she whispered.
Dina did so, the small trail of smoke curling into the air. For a second, nothing happened, and then letters began to form before her eyes.
“Ah, just as I suspected,” Nour said gravely.
The letters hovered clearly above her before dissipating. There was only one name.
Dina Whitlock.